As described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,091 issued to Chaumat, doors generally comprise a door panel hinged in a doorframe about a hinge. This type of door presents an accident risk whenever the hinged door panel closes suddenly in the doorframe. A person, in particular a child, having a hand resting on the upright of the frame that is remote from the hinge, runs the risk of having the digits on a hand jammed between the door frame and the hinged door panel.
As noted in U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,186 issued to Haq, the sickening sound of a fast-closing door crunching against fingers which move too slowly is only secondary to the excruciating pain felt by the person whose fingers happen to be caught by the slamming door. Whatever the merits of the Haq invention, the Haq invention only works well with fast-closing doors.